Message from
Rotary International President
Stephanie A. Urchick
From eradicating polio to building peace, much of the work we do around the world would not be possible without our continued support of our Foundation.
The cause of peace is especially important to me, and one of the most effective ways we build peace is our Rotary Peace Fellowship — a product of The Rotary Foundation. The program helps current and aspiring peace and development
professionals around the world learn how to prevent and how to end conflict.
Thanks to a $15.5 million gift from the Otto and Fran Walter Foundation, we can continue supporting peacebuilders in more regions with the next Rotary Peace Center, at Bahçeşehir University in Istanbul.
Opening yet another peace center is a monumental achievement that we will celebrate at the 2025 Rotary Presidential Peace Conference in Istanbul.
The three-day conference 20-22 on February, 2025 will highlight the many ways our family of Rotary advocates for peace.
Keynote speakers, panel discussions, and breakout sessions will allow us to share ideas about building peace and foster meaningful conversations about promoting peace everywhere.
Registration for the Presidential Peace Conference is open. I hope to see you there, but if you can’t make it, our Foundation offers so many ways to change the world for the better. November is The Rotary Foundation Month, a great time to get to know your Foundation better and pursue causes that appeal to you.
Global grants support large international activities with sustainable, measurable outcomes in Rotary’s areas of focus. By working together to respond to pressing community needs, clubs and districts strengthen their global partnerships.
District grants fund small-scale, short-term activities that address needs in your community and in communities abroad.
Each district chooses which activities it will fund with these grants. Our Foundation can even help you support our wonderful youth programs, including Rotary Youth Exchange, Rotary Youth Leadership Awards, and Interact.
Your gifts to our Foundation also make Programs of Scale possible. These are long-term projects that seek to solve otherwise intractable problems.
To ensure these good works continue beyond our lifetimes, it is up to us to reach our ambitious Rotary Endowment goal of $2.025 billion by 30 June 2025.
The Magic of Rotary does not appear out of nowhere. We create the magic with every new member inducted, every project completed, and every dollar donated to our Foundation.
Please join me in supporting The Rotary Foundation, and together, we will change the world for the better.
STEPHANIE A. URCHICK
President 2024-2025
